September 2006: Mom had to fly back through Lisbon on her way home, so we went with her and spent a few days messing around in Portugal and Spain. |
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If you ever go to Lisbon, cross the 25 de Abril Bridge to the south shore of the Tagus River. It's the 17th largest suspension bridge in the world. When you get up to the overlook, hopefully you can figure out how to work your digital camera. Mom's working on it... | |
| Well look at that. She got it figured out. This picture looks sweet and cuddly, but actually it was taken just before Tanya's third attempt to throw me over the edge. |  |
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After dropping Mom off at the Lisbon airport, we headed down to Benalup, Spain. We stayed in the most amazing place called Hotel Utopia. If you even go to southern Spain, stay here. You will not regret it! | |
| Since we were in Spain, we wanted to try some Paella. It wasn't on the menu, but the chef offered to make it especially for us. Oh man, it was so good. |  |
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Maria was working at the front desk when we arrived, and she speaks great English. She hooked us up with the Paella and told us fun places to go while we were there. Thanks Maria! |
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This is Pascal. He worked at the front desk, but he was also a kick-ass trumpet player. He played on the stage in the dining room while we were eating dinner. Pascal, you rock! |
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The bar and dining room at the Hotel Utopia. The whole place is an amazing mix of 1930s paraphernalia and pop-art. |
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Next we ventured even further south, to Tarifa. Click on the picture, then notice the mountain tops in the haze back there. That's Africa, and it's the closest we've ever been to it. Yes, you can see right across the Straights of Gibraltar. |
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Just east of Tarifa is Algecira. This was the most wonderful beach! We taught ourselves how to bodysurf. I must say I'm quite good for a guy from Montana. Tanya's quite good at getting a tan. |
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The Rock of Gibraltar! The damn British wouldn't let us in because we left our passports at the hotel. Who knew it was a British colony? But they couldn't stop us from taking our picture by the trash cans! |
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